The present invention is related generally to filters and more specifically to industrial filters for removing debris from a fluid path.
During the construction of large and complex components such as steam generators, heat exchangers, or the like, or any system requiring a large number of pipes, pipe fittings, valves, etc., it is known that various construction materials and tools are often left in the component or system being constructed. Such construction debris may include nuts, bolts, pipe fittings, valve parts, screw drivers, wrenches, or any material or device used in the contruction of the component or system. Operation of the component or system without removing that construction debris may prove extremely detrimental because such debris can puncture or rupture pipes, clog pipes, clog valves, or cause similar problems.
Although industrial filters are well-known and are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes for performing mechanical as well as chemical types of filtering, the requirements of a filter for removing construction debris are substantially different. A filter for removing construction debris must be sized such that it is capable of removing all debris which may cause damage but must not have an adverse effect on the process being performed. The filter must be further sized such that it will be capable of withstanding deformation by the temperatures, pressures, and fluid velocities to which it will be exposed. Such competing design criteria require new approaches to the design and construction of filters for removing construction debris.